10 Things You Wish You Knew About Grant Writing

Grant writing is many things — difficult, challenging, confusing, frustrating, mind-boggling and competitive. It’s rarely described as easy, fun or simple.

Because grant writing is so often a daunting activity — especially for small nonprofits whose staff members already wear many hats — it’s easy to rush through an application or cut corners. Many just simply struggle to produce a highly competitive proposal. When you send a less than perfect proposal out into the world, you might leave important foundations with a sense that your organization is disorganized or unable to properly manage grant funds. They might come to see you as a shaky investment, and if that impression stays with them, you’ll have a hard time convincing them otherwise.

As anyone who has researched grant prospects knows, the opportunities for funding partners are few and far between. No nonprofit can afford to leave a bad taste in the mouth of a foundation’s executives.